ACTFL+Conference+Notes+2010


 * American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages – ACTFL 2010 - Eleanor Leyden**

I provide below conference and exhibition notes. I have full notes plus lots of literature on hand so if anyone wants more information please contact me. In a few weeks I will also be able to access the handouts from conference sessions on the ACTFL site so please contact me if that is of interest.
 * Conference Sessions**
 * Conference Sessions**


 * Providing Sustained Professional Development: A Model for the Future**
 * (Dr. Carl D. Falstaf, Center for Applied Language Studies (CASLS) U Oregon)**

Premise is that workshops introduce new knowledge but do not necessarily allow the processing time and ongoing framework to change teaching habits/practice. CASLS developed a model to mentor and coach new teachers with a summer institute and online annual seminar. Action research was a crucial part of the process in creating the reflective teacher. Project was also aimed at encouraging leadership of many kinds. Can be adapted for the mature teacher – key points are proximal expertise is important, we need to see beyond our four walls, teaching is learning. Overall we need less information and more processing time through a social network to make longstanding changes in teaching practice. Community, reflection, coaching, sharing are key elements in creating transformative professional development.

“ The limits of my language are the limits of my world” - Wittgenstein
 * Strategies For Keeping the Class in the Target Language**
 * (Helena Curtain)**

90% target language use is the ideal goal in the classroom but there are many reasons why it does not happen – time constraints, fatigue etc. These strategies help to keep us on target

1) Tell Your Partner Activity – you tell the students what to say and they have to tell their partner the same thing therebycommunicating with social interaction. Give the instructions in target language . “Tell your partner that it is a nice day out today” “ Tell your partner to open the book to page…”

2) Avoiding the use of translation as a first resort – it is the last resort because we can’t do anything else. Try other strategies first. We want to access the language through the language not through translation. This is why visuals are so important

3) Language is the key to culture – you feel the language and connect to that - you are the culture bearer – what it feels like to be part of that language community

4) A talking head is no good – You need support – visuals, pictures, items, objects, body language

5) Learners need to be surrounded by comprehensible input. Plan just enough to get the lesson delivered through the target language – less is more. If you can’t get the point across in the target langaueg perhaps you need to change the lesson. 6) Teacher needs to be commited and set the tone. Needs to be aware of language use. Use English only for specific stated purposes. The role of English si 10% - intentional, for a purpose, a conscious decision. 7) Have a sign that signals target language use and English language use to build awareness. 8) It is hard to remain in target languae when ill or tired so have a contingency plan – a game or activity 9) Have a target language routine in class for greeting and leave taking 10) You can elicit a word in English as a comprehension check but you do not have to provide it. Try comprehension checks with signals not words. Thumbs up or down. Have students explain it to each other in TL. 11) Have feedback rubric in target language with emphasis on risk taking and not accuracy

The reasons teachers may not use 90% target language are: 1) behavior of students 2) their own confidence 3) the class size 4) the reaction of the students playing the I don’t understand game 4) teacher fatigue etc.

Questions teachers can ask to increase intentional use of TL

1)Shall I use English for a lesson segment? 2)Can I find a way to communicate new idea in TL? 3)Can I simplify? Can I enrich context? (visuals, pictures. prior knowledge, other strateties to get meaing) 4)Can I delay it until we can use the target language to do this lesson? 5)Will failing to understand this vocabulary item prevent the lesson from progressing?

Some more strategies:

1) use TL consistently – a value statement 2) surround students with TL 3) keep track of and assess TL use 4) use a reinforcement system – reward, chart, token? – a token jar for target language use - behavior modification 5) Separate English from target language using a sign or signal routine – post it on board with magnets so that it is obvious.

ACTFL has a position statement – TL use needs to be 90% - research indicates the pivotal roles of target language inter action… Recommends 90% or plus use of TL. Here is a list of ACTFL recommendations

1) Provide comprehensible input directed towards communicative goals. Talk to them as if they understand

2) Maintain physical environment that supports TL. Gather materials such as visuals, manipulates, etc.- can use computer support with words, charts, pictures and any kind of graphic organizer. Can tell little stories with montages of photos in slide show to contextualize. Tell the story. It takes a lot of work but it is fun to get the message across.

3) avoid doing the talking for extended periods of time. Let the kids talk.

4) make language modifications

5) define words in meaningful contexts, paraphrase, give opposites, make vocab continuums

6) pace the class and provide opportunities to move about - Use TPR in short sequences and TPRS – circling - Krashen – natural approach circling technique – creating spiraling references to an item

7) set up a cooperative learning situation

8) develop thematic units that make information more comprehensible since it places it into a meaningful context.

9) Negotiating meaing – information gap activities ( we don’t do enough of these)

10) Negotiating meaning – jigsaw activity - 4 part definition = they use TL to interact

11) Elicit talk that increases in fluency, accuracy and complexity over time.

12) Instead of perfect and accurate enunciations - challenge to take risks and reward for that.

13) Encourge spontaneous communication - Language Ladder or Exclamations so they can have social language.

14) Teach kids to manage their conversation – how to get in and out of an interaction.

www.miscositas.com is a site that provides communicative Passwords or Language Ladders for classroom communication so students can manage selves in TL.

[|www.helenecurtainswiki.wikispaces.com]


 * The ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview – Computer (OPIc)**
 * ( Dr. Eric Surface, SWA, Hollie West, ACTFL)**

Presentation on researched test validity of this assessment tool. Of more interest to researchers and policy makers.This is apparently a valid test.


 * LTI – An overview of ACTL Assessments**
 * (Gabe Cruz, Langauge Testing International)**

LTI is a licenced testing company with ACTFL. They assess for commercial companies, government agencies, academic institutions. They offer:

1) an OPI - telephone or personal oral proficiency interview for 20-30 minutes – Criterion referenced based on ACTLF Proficiency Guidelines.

2) A Level Check –a truncated OPI determines whether or not a candidate possesses a specific speaking level. - you can request which level you want checked.

The OPIc – a test designed to model the OPI but cannot simulate natural conversation however it is a reliable test as there is a bank of 500 sample questions, an interest survey and algorithms that pull in questions according to interests of each candidate. Digital prompts elicit sample speech – electronic delivery to live ACTFL raters. Security and Validity checks are there.

OPIc K-12 Novice – NL through IM Opic K-12 Intermediate – NM through IH

Duration range is 15-20 minute range for K-12. Difference between OPIC and OPIC K-12 is the type of topics scaled to age range. Recommended HS level for regular OPIC is grade 10. OPIC gives recommendation for college credit so students in 11th grade can take it for credit. Regular OPIC has self -assessment section but the K-12 does not have that function because not appropriate for ES students according to LTI

OPIc available in Mandarin, French, Spanish OPI C - and OPI C K-12 in French, Spanish and English.

Writing Proficiency Tests (WPI) all instructions in and prompts in English Open constructed response in target language. Individual Test – 90 minutes – proctored – on line content based on background survey on experiences and interests of candidate Level of test adjusted based on candidate self assessment or fixed form – level and content of test determined prior to test time –

Diagnostic Comments – are offered to candidates from Tester or Tester trainer who writes up strength and weaknesses and provide feedback on what candidate needs to do to improve level – available for any test. .

ACTFL Proficiency Tests – nationally recognized, valid and reliable assessment. Direct assessment of functional ability, not curriculum, program or country dependent. recognizes traditional and non traditional gained competence. Fair and non-threatening, Test taker centered, Secure. Uses of Testing- Teacher Cert, Placement Tests, Entrance and Exit Exams, program evaluation, NCATE testing, college credit testing – ACE recommendation for issued college credits and review, testing for Carnegie Units – HS student in Ct and Pa must take these tests.

Customized client utility website – private portal – 24/7 availability. No charge for utilties, IT or customer service just for the test

OPI – 134 usd OPIC – Level Check – 85 usd K-12 OPIc – 20 usd Diagnostic comments- 75 usd WPT – 85 usd

Can be a teacher reliever for someone who does not want to administer 200 end of year interviews. The APPLE is a multi skilled test – for release next spring 2011.

( NOTE - this kind of assessment may be useful as a common assessment cross campus – it is fair and independent of specific vocabulary or units taught – it measures proficiency not curriculum coverage and it correlates with our ACTFL adapted standards. )


 * Promoting Self Directed Language Learning With LinguaFolio Online**
 * (Krystal Sundstrom and Carl Falsgraf, CASLS)**

Presentation not about the tool but about changing our teaching and students’ attitudes towards learning. This is a formative assessment tool and can be powerful as part of curriculum development process according to backward design:

1) identify desired results 2) determine acceptable evidence 3) plan learning experiences and instruction

Breaks down general outcomes in to meaningful demonstration - evidence!

The research: Assessment manifesto –Stiggins 2008 Effective classroom assessment improves student performance .5-1.0 standard deviations ( Black and Wiliam, 1998)

the paradigm shift : auditing to informing extrinsic to intrinsic focus teacher control to learner control

Linguafolio: kids set their own goals – it is for kids! user name and password belongs to kid not teacher or anyone else. student will not study with you for the rest of their life. It belongs to them Passport – main navigation site – with ACTFL levels and 5 main modes from Interpretive, Interpersonal, Presentation etc.

Folio Elements:

Biography section Interculturality section Can Do Checklist with main can do’s and sub can do’s Can do Checklist requires evidence to be posted – reliable. Student can make the portfolio available to a list of users.

Research Conducted on LinguaFolio:

Moeller : LFO improves goal setting

CASLS : CanDo’s scale well – they do check them off in sequence as they improve.

Ross: Self-evaluation vs teacher evaluation – LFO (student directed) evaulation clusters below the line of Computer Assessed Proficiencey. TRO ( teacher directed) clusters above the line of CAP.

CAVEAT – have specific criteria – have no consequences for the portfolio as it is formative

LFO in real world – Portland is using LFO as outcomes, Oregon Flagship screens Chinese language students, West Yellowstone, MT, - put speaking samples up.

Linguafolio gives you something to talk about - evidence, evidence, evidence.

Implementation Challenges and Successes

Begin from Backward Planning, Implement with existing Curriculum and materials, focus on student outcomes. It is not separate activity – use it with what you do.

Logistical Issues access to technology, registration (log ins – forgetting passwords etc), guided ownership of account is recommended, clear directions. Security ( youtube is the embed service – needs to be remedied) Time ( when do you find time to integrate into what you are doing?)

Linguafolio is not a summative assessment – but tool to gather evidence… then you need a rubric to evaluate – so that is a separate step to see if they met standards. Y ou can organize the rubric according to standards. Use OPI or CAP or STAMP to provide summative assessment. State of Kentucky has adopted the CAN DO statements as their standards and benchmarks.

LFO is now being formatted to download to Mobile devices ( Ipod, I pad and I phone)

Do not use below middle school level – hard cognitive trick – 7th grade and above

(NOTE: LFO coincides with our curricular focus on ACTFL standards and our schoolwide focus on formative assessment. The program is still be being piloted and we have an opportunity to participate in that per my conversation with researcher. This is worth the advocacy)


 * Designing and Implmenting Online Assigments to Enhance Proficiency**
 * ( Hee-Sun Kim, Stanford University)**

This presentation gave 2 examples of online learning in blended course which means a face to face and computer mediated interaction. The key points were that online assigments require scaffolding to build in tech skills and understandings and they also need to be balanced in terms of interpersonal, interpretative and presentational modes. Online assignments can be designed to fit the defintion of constructivism - interpretative, recursive, non-linear building of knowledge and skills. It also appeals to our digital natives and satisfies the need for digital literacy across the curriculum.

The two examples were of a communication gap video viewing activity and a wiki web page project. Both projects were designed so that there were independent and collaborative phases, opportunities for peer and teacher feedback and online and inclass presentation.

This was by far one of the best sessions at the conference. An inspirational model for learning. However, as this was a university course the instructor has less class contact hours and more time to set up the assignments. The preparation and feedback time is not negligeable. Once an inventory of assignments are created however future courses should not impinge on preparation time to an excessive extent.

Issues in Implementation

student training and teacher training we need to train students for complex tasks tech problems – platform independence ( video clips and audio recording) and student OS – each one had different – teacher made 6 different format files so all students could use on their different systems. plagiarism – honor code – Wiki –students do not want to point out other students mistakes publicly or Students revise incorrectly – embarrassing – how can teacher intervene?

I have step by step descriptions of the projects with the modes identified.


 * Preparing to Teach the AP French Language and Culture Course**
 * (James Monk, College Board, Deanna Scheffer, Episcopal High School)**

A thorough review of the revised course to be launched in 2012. The test format and purpose explained. The main changes are that the grammar multiple choice and fill ins are now eliminated. The listening rejoinders section has been eliminated. Listening, Speaking and Writing are now context embedded and split among interpersonal, interpretative and presentational modes. For example, writing will have 2 tasks - an interpersonal letter and a presentational essay. The course will be organized around 7 themes which coincide more or less with IB and Ab Initio themes. The test is more context embedded, more integrated with one section providing a text and a short audio broadcast with test task being the student has to respond in writing to the ideas in both.

New AP course syllabi need to be handed in of course.

I have full handouts

(Note: with the elimination of the grammar and listening rejoinders sections and the focus on text handling the AP course moves closer to the IB in terms of measuring proficiency. It should be possible to offer both courses in one registered section with a few caveats. The Spanish exam has already been revised and not sure whether 1) it will go through further revision 2) it can be taught in same section as IB. The AP Spanish and AP French still differ in format from what I could gather. Castro will know more about the specifics of the Spanish exam)


 * Using Web Resources to Link Instruction and Assesment**
 * (Christina Biron, U.Mass-Darmouth)**

A presentation on a 7 week online only beginning Spanish course with emphasis on how to plan web resources as blended, ancillary or sole platform.

[|www.intensivespanish2.wetpaint.com/] wetpaint.wiki? presenter started with blended course and now using online as unique resource. She uses wetpaint wikis as a platform. It’s easy – daily announcement, assignments, course rubrics, syllabus and tools listed.

Used planning model to link instruction and assessment – backward design from learning outcomes, has self assessment form correlated with learners outcomes

preparatory phase and portfolio phase – 2 phased learning for students

recycle resources on weekly basis with different theme, tool remains same but thematic /grammatic content changed.

Tools, Design and Instructor Feedback made the course 3-4 hours of grading and feedback per day - intensive committment

Tools used on wiki:

Spanish Steps on BBC – has 20 minute module… simple interaction

[|www.studyspanish.com] - see and hear the Spanish on cultural notes… not bad

BBC– mividaloca – great tool!

Zachary Jones site is really good for music and words!

Lyricstraining .com – lets you do cloze exercises to get video to advance.

Caption2. com – lets you add subtitles [|www.laits.utexas.edu.spe] - UT at Austin – Spanish proficiency site – audio examples and script… to teach kids how to speak using samples. ( can use immediately with Ab Initio!)

UT at Austin – good French site also! get onto it.. good for modeling!

EVOCA – a voice feedback – audio pod casting program - check it out.


 * Second Life : A Virtual Language Experience**
 * (Juan C Martin, Anne Martin Wheeler School)**
 * Virtual Worlds: The New Generation of Instructional Technology**
 * (Amy Wehner, University of South Florida)**

These two presentations showed two different uses of Second Life for college students as a way to promote social interaction and speaking proficiency as well as cultural knowledge. This is very cutting edge and has many issues and implications. My guess is in line with one of the presenters that the internet will be going the way of the virtual world and this may be the next revolution in internet use and online learning. The need for scaffolding, training and attention to user behavior and interaction were thoroughly dealt with. The time investment is also to be considered. At present there is no teen protected site. The old teen protected site will be merged with the adult world although there are some age verifications and restrictions. It is possible to purchase a Second Life site ( about 700 USD annually) which is restricted to members of a community such as Puxi/Pudong lanuage learners but then the opportunity to interact with native speakers is diminished. Alternately partnerships with other schools in other countries can be set up. Pros and Cons to be discussed. I have been aware of second life use for the past years and it is now very accepted at university level. I will sign up and experience this virtual world before making any recommendations for high school use. Second Life is not a game but a social virtual world. It is very interesting and has many applications. Teachers have seen lots of progress and learners are satisfied with it. It blows the lid off the concept of penpals or epals


 * Familiarization with the CEFR (Part 2)**
 * (Drs. Tschirner and Barenfanger, University of Leipzig)**

A hands on presentation in which we considered the rating of speaking and writing samples according to CEFR descriptor scales.

Summary of descriptors for Speaking outcomes: Range ( general and vocabulary ), Accuracy ( grammar and vocabulary) Fluency ( ability to keep conversation going) Interaction ( turn taking, cooperation, exclamation) Coherence ( organized, logical, transitions)

When using descriptors try bracketing in order to be most precise. Consider if they could fall above or below your preferred scale. This is a check on your rating by relying on scale.

I have handouts


 * Electronic Poster Sessions**

Women's Microfinace Projects in Francophone Africa – good for IB French Spanish Audio Mashups - new age digital recording Experiential Lesson Planning - basically the lesson planning experience (have blogsites and handouts)


 * Exhibitors Visited**:

My goal was to search out E texts for French and Spanish and find some Study Abroad agents who could improve the potential service aspect of our Spanish trips in future. I signed up for sample copies and received a few on site along with catalogues all to be made available for the asking or at PD day in February. I also met with the applied linguistics departments that offer resources to teachers:

Vista Higher Education Pearson Cengage – Heinle McDougal Little LiveMocha – online learning community Experiment in International Living Orphanages Abroad in Dominican Republic Los Amigos de las Americas CASLS CAL CLEAR CALICO San Diego State